The financial system is an integral part of our world’s economy. The Global Financial crisis of 2008 and the ongoing European Financial Crisis are both indicators that money plays a huge role in the stability of the economic system in which we live. The fragility of this system has resulted in numerous creative citizens from all over the world taking matters into their own hands and creating alternative financial instruments.

Many people these days have heard of Bitcoin, the most widely known alternative currency, but there are many other financial innovations that are taking place throughout the world. Here ...